Cardinals Down Duke 3-0

Friday, October 5

LOUISVILLE, KY

5:00 p.m.

University of Louisville

12-4, 5-0

DUKE

7-7, 1-4

DUKE

Louisville

October 05, 2018 | Women's Volleyball

Box Score Duke at Louisville Box Score Louisville Season Stats after Duke Photo Gallery

Cards move to 5-0 in the ACC with the sweep

By: Kylie Klotzbach

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Returning to Cardinal Arena for the first time in nearly three weeks, the University of Louisville volleyball team swept Duke 25-15, 25-16, 25-21 on Friday evening to remain undefeated in ACC action.

With the victory, the Cardinals move to 12-4 on the season and 5-0 in ACC play, while Duke falls to 7-7 (1-4). Junior outside hitter Melanie McHenry led the Cardinals with 15 kills, while Megan Sloan added 11 kills of her own. Molly Sauer paced Louisville with 15 digs, and Emily Scott had four blocks. UofL hit .364 as a team with six blocks and five aces. Duke hit .152 with four aces and four blocks. The Blue Devils were led by Ade Owokoniran's eight kills.

"This was a really dominant performance," said UofL head coach Dani Busboom Kelly. "We've been on the road for two weeks, so it's great to come home and play awesome. Offensively, we didn't slow the entire match. Melanie McHenry had a great game, she looked comfortable and confident, really everybody did. Wilma Rivera had one of her best games of the year, and when your setter has a great game, everybody is going to have a great game."

The Cardinals jumped out to an early 10-4 lead in the first set, forcing the Blue Devils to use a timeout after four straight Louisville points. Duke responded with two consecutive kills, but Louisville did not relent. The Cards won the set in a 25-15 decision, using a hitting percentage of .552 and never letting the Blue Devils come within less than five points. McHenry paced the Cards with five kills, while Amanda Green led with three digs.

A series of errors plagued the Blue Devils early in the second set, but they battled back with four straight points to get within one at 8-7. Critical errors continued to trouble Duke, allowing Louisville to take a 15-8 lead and force another timeout. Despite a comeback attempt by the Blue Devils, the Cards never looked back, holding Duke to a .071 hitting percentage and winning the set 25-16. McHenry added five more kills in the set and Molly Sauer tallied five digs.

After trading points to start, the Blue Devils staged a 6-0 run to take a 10-6 lead in the third set. Out of the timeout, a kill by Piper Roe ignited a 5-1 Louisville run to knot the score at 11-11. Neither team was able to create a true separation until back-to-back kills by Emily Scott gave the Cards a 17-16 lead that they never relinquished. Louisville sealed the sweep with a 25-21 victory in the third set led by McHenry's five kills and Sauer's eight digs.

The Cards return to action on Sunday at 1 p.m. when they welcome Wake Forest to Cardinal Arena.